The Documentary Center Explores Evidence with The Innocence Project
Join the GW Documentary Center for their "What's Up? Docs!" series screening of the Academy Award-nominee and Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Capturing the Friedmans. The free screening will be followed by a Q&A on the "use and abuse of evidence" with special guest Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
Film Synopsis
While preparing a documentary about children's birthday party entertainers, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki learned that one of his subjects, professional clown David Friedman, was the son and brother of two men who had been convicted of child sexual abuse in a high-profile 1980s criminal trial.
The Friedmans were a normal middle-class family when Arnold Friedman and his son Jesse were accused of shocking crimes. Using home videos made by the Friedman family before and during the trial, as well as new interviews, Jarecki explores the conflicting stories of the accused, the alleged victims and the investigators. Capturing the Friedmans reveals provocative questions about truth, justice, family, and – ultimately - truth.
More About Shawn Armbrust
Shawn Armbrust has been the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) since 2005. In that capacity, she works to prevent and correct wrongful convictions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. During her tenure, MAIP has helped free 21 innocent people, has helped secure the passage of several laws that would help prevent wrongful convictions, and has developed important relationships with prosecutors and government agencies in each of its jurisdictions.